James Cleverly: Protests and asylum fill Home Office in-tray

James Cleverly arrived at the Home Office pledging to run the department in his own style.

The role of home secretary is one of the biggest jobs in government, with responsibility for the police, immigration, and national security.

Asked if he wanted to distance himself from the rhetoric of his predecessor, Suella Braverman, he said: "I intend to do this job in the way that I feel best protects the British people and our interests."

The new home secretary has a bulging in-tray.

Top of the pile will be the legacy of the row over pro-Palestinian protests. Downing Street is understood to want him immediately to review police powers to make it easier to ban marches and prosecute those glorifying terrorism.

But this won't be straightforward. Lowering the bar to ban protests would almost certainly lead to a legal challenge that such a change breaches the right to freedom of assembly and association as set out in the European Convention of Human Rights, and enshrined in UK law.

Prohibiting a protest march is only lawful "in the interests of national security" or to prevent "serious public disorder". Senior officers policing major protests would argue that the decision on when and where to arrest individuals is an operational matter.

There is the risk that using snatch squads to arrest marchers for hate crimes could make public disorder more likely.

That judgement will be issued on Wednesday morning and were the Home Office to lose, the new home secretary would face an immediate crisis.

Even if the government win, the policy is likely to see further legal challenges from individual asylum seekers attempting to avoid being sent to Rwanda.

Mr Cleverly has said the prime minister had made it clear to him that "he wants to deliver on promises, to stop the boats, to protect the British people, make sure everyone feels secure in their lives."

More than 26,000 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year, significantly lower than at this point last year, but the government believes the threat of being sent to East Africa is the best way to stop the smuggling gangs.

The new home secretary also inherits an asylum system in meltdown with 175,000 people waiting for an initial decision on their claim and tens of thousands still in hotels, costing around £8m a day.

One immediate dilemma for him is that the Home Office plan to move people out of hotels and into other accommodation includes a proposal to house 1,700 single male migrants at a former RAF base at Wethersfield near Braintree in Essex.

That is in Mr Cleverly's constituency and he has previously expressed opposition to using the site.

James Cleverly's style is very different to Suella Braverman. At the Foreign Office he came across as measured and diplomatic. It was a job he loved. When it was suggested he might become defence secretary in a previous reshuffle, he said that if removed, "you will see nail marks on the parquet floor in my office".

He will need a different approach to reflect the government's determination to look tough on crime and punishment in the run up to the next election.